The Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

In the sixth month after the Archangel appeared to Zacharias, the Archangel Gabriel was sent to the Galilean city of Nazareth, to the Virgin Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph, a descendant of the house of David. He who stands before the Lord addressed her thus: “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:28). Mary was troubled and cast in her mind “what manner of salutation this should be” (Luke 1:29). Zacharias, through unbelief, did not trust the Archangel’s words and was punished, whereas Mary doubted out of humility; therefore the heavenly messenger went on, with reverence and patience, to convince her: “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.” Step by step he reveals to the Virgin who the fruit of her womb will be: “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:30–33). To Mary’s Son God promises the throne of David, that is, the royal throne of Israel, and everlasting reign over the house of Jacob, that is, over the twelve tribes of Israel. Only God is eternal. And the house of Jacob is the believing people that sees the Lord, united with the Lord in spirit through its prayer. A birth from a virgin without a man is beyond the grasp of the human mind, and so the Mother of God asks: “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34). The angel answers: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee” (Luke 1:35), and gives her a sign as well: her kinswoman, the aged Elisabeth, has already been with child for six months. The All-holy one wished to know the will of God exactly and feared to be mistaken, but when she had understood everything in detail, she submitted and entrusted herself to the Lord: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38). And at once the Holy Spirit entered the undefiled temple of the Virgin and sanctified her nature. With the very weapon the devil used to bring about our fall, Christ saved us: if Eve’s deed made the race of Adam shed tears many times over, the Virgin Mary brought it the greatest joy. It is not by chance that the Mother of God is called Mary, “the enlightener”: through her the Sun of Righteousness shone forth upon mankind sitting in darkness and enlightened the minds of the faithful.

The great feast of the Lord, which the holy Church celebrates on 25 March, is called the Annunciation, because on this day the good news was announced not only to the All-holy Mary but to all mankind: that the good God could not abandon man, created in His image and likeness, to the everlasting captivity of death and sin, and resolved to deliver him from bondage to the devil. This day is the beginning, “the crown of our salvation and the revelation of the mystery hidden from all ages”.